Neetzan Zimmerman

Earlier today it was revealed that Senator John McCain, along with several of his fellow Republicans, skipped a classified Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee briefing on the Benghazi consulate attack to hold a press conference about the lack of information on the Benghazi consulate attack.

CNN wanted to know why Sen. McCain decided it was more important to complain about "many unanswered questions" about Benghazi rather than, say, go to a committee briefing where those questions might be answered, so they sent a reporter to ask him.

But, ironically, McCain was in no mood to answer questions.

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"I have no comment about my schedule and I'm not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media," he told CNN's Ted Barrett. Pressed on why he had no comment, McCain barked back, "Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?"

When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, "I'm upset that you keep badgering me."

It's worth noting that McCain was in a pretty foul mood yesterday as well, lashing out at a reporter who asked him if the national security threat from the Petraeus scandal was comparable to that of the Benghazi attack by calling the query "one of the dumbest questions I've ever heard."